Assert Yourself

Israel is up to something. It has been asserting itself increasingly in the region through a series of brazen measures, which falls in line with my earlier assessment that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is much tougher than his predecessor and wants to re-establish Israel’s deterrent power after it suffered as a result of The Second Lebanon War.

“Israeli warplanes made low-altitude passes over southern Lebanon, in defiance of a UN ceasefire resolution, Lebanese police said Tuesday. Six aircraft violated Lebanese airspace from 10:00 am (0700 GMT), swooping low over the port cities of Sidon and Tyre where they caused sonic booms, police said. The planes also overflew the Bint Jbeil region, a stronghold of the Hezbollah militant group, they said. Israeli warplanes have violated Lebanese airspace in the past two weeks on a near-daily basis, but Tuesday’s overpasses were lower in altitude and caused sonic bangs.” (AFP)